People v. Rodriguez
Opinion of the Court
—Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Harold Beeler, J.), rendered January 20, 2000, convicting defendant, after a jury trial, of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree, and sentencing him, as second felony offender, to a term of 6 to 12 years, unanimously modified, as a matter of discretion in the interest of justice, to the extent of reducing the sentence to a term of 5 to 10 years, and otherwise affirmed.
The court properly denied defendant’s motion to set aside the verdict based on juror misconduct. There is no basis upon which to disturb the court’s determinations concerning credibility. As explained in the court’s decision (183 Misc 2d 867), the juror’s concealment of information during voir dire did not cause any prejudice that would entitle defendant to a new trial.
The prosecutor’s isolated summation remark concerning the reaction of the defense witnesses to defendant’s arrest, when viewed in context, did not draw an inference of guilt and did not deprive defendant of a fair trial (see, People v D'Alessandro, 184 AD2d 114, 118-119, lv denied 81 NY2d 884).
We find the sentence excessive to the extent indicated.
Defendant’s remaining contentions are unpreserved and we decline to review them in the interest of justice. Were we to review these claims, we would reject them. Concur — Williams, J.P., Mazzarelli, Ellerin, Lerner and Rubin, JJ. [See 183 Misc 2d 867.]
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.